20 Most Overrated Movies of the 2000s

Alright, so what do I mean by overrated? I mean movies that were box office smash hits that got decent reviews or flat out were gushed over by many critics.  Not being part of the normal criticssphere, we here at 20 Movie Bites are more than happy to take the gloves off about these films and help you avoid the mistake of watching one of these because you heard good things. Trust me, I heard good things too. You will likely notice a heavy dose of musicals on this list.

20. Elephant (drama)

Acclaimed by critics for its minimal style while attempting to deal with teens in a Columbine-like situation, this unmoving work by Gus Van Sant makes you want do something violent yourself. 

19. Spirited Away (animated)

Japanimation. Ughh. It's a niche genre of cinema and no matter what anime fans might try to persuade you, it's the most elegant of them. But it still sucks.

18. Girlfight (drama)

The movie that put Michelle Rodriguez and director Karyn Kusama on the map. Another critic darling about a female boxer. You'd think it would be interesting. Nope. Incredibly slow-paced and uninspiring.

17. Pollock (drama)

The pretentious art film in the bunch - literally. Hardly redeeming and while Jackson Pollock's work is worth studying, this movie isn't.

16. Ice Age (animated comedy)
It was so good they made 2 sequels. And seriously, could you really care any less about the characters?

15. Adaption (comedy/drama)
Unlike confessions, Charlie Kaufman takes a great approach to a movie about the writing experience. Unfortunately, the book he's adapting is still really boring.

14. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (drama)
I didn't really care if the guy's story was true or not. All I did not was that it was a convoluted mess masquerading as a story.

13. Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince (fantasy)
The book was actually well-written. What happened here is the subplot of the relationship became the main plot and the exploration of the villain, Voldemort became a footnote. How does that happen? The title of the movie/book is about him!

12. Dreamgirls (musical)
You'd have to wonder if musicals are an excuse to not tell an interesting story or fresh take on an old tale. Dreamgirls seems to recycle every musical cliché out there.

11. Dancer in the Dark (musical)
Von Trier takes the Dogmé 95 movement to its conclusion here. It seems that he tries to show in this film how many cuts you can possibly have in a film. I've never felt a movie was so overcut as this and it is distracting. Bjork seems okay in it, but again - it's a musical.

10. The Reader (drama)
Another movie with the Oscar nominee pedigree - WWII setting, woman with a secret, coming of age boy and European sexuality. It falters under the weight of all the movie clichés that it lives off of.


9. Brokeback Mountain (drama)
Is it well acted? Yes. Is it that moving? Not any more than any other dramatic love story. It just happens to be about a gay love story. Perhaps it's more because it falls on the sword of the joke about indie films that Trey Parker and Matt Stone concocted years before - gay cowboys (without the pudding).

8. Sweeney Todd (musical)
Dear Mr. Burton,
While I admire your visual panache, your choice of stories leaves much to be desired. What you need is a producer to keep you selecting good projects. This is not one of them, despite the hype.



7. A Beautiful Mind (drama)
Funny that a movie about mathematics is a paint-by-the-numbers type of film. Everything is here that should be, but very non-compelling and heavy handed fashion.



6. Sideways (comedy/drama)
There seem to be a lot of these on the list. Movies that are not sure how to balance laughter and seriousness. In all seriousness, it's hard to relate to the main characters as no one is likeable and the situations are sort of a twisted funny. Yes, it might be real life. No, it's not entertaining.

5. Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith
Alright George Lucas, third time is the charm, right? He wrecked a story for a generation or two of fans with the first 2 prequels, could he do it again? Yes. The movie didn't have to be surprising, it just had to be well acted and well executed. For all the hope of salvaging the Star Wars franchise, it did nothing for it.



4. Mystic River (drama)
When Mr. Eastwood rolls a movie into theaters, I'll watch it every time. Ocassionally he goofs. And when he goofs it's big. But don't tell the Academy that. It was nominated for Best Picture despite it's lackadaisical, wandering structure



3. The Pianist (drama)
There's a reason that this movie was dismissed initially by the public - it's not terribly interesting. And Adrian Brody rubs me the wrong way.  The douche-baggy wrong way. I for one am content to let Polanski's film productivity stay down while he stays in Europe.

2. Gran Torino (drama)
I just can't get over how cheesy the dialogue is in this film. It's hard to watch Clint play a facsimile of Dirty Harry here. I don't think I've ever watched a major dramatic movie before and ever felt that it was "acted" as this.

1. Chicago (musical)
Just because you channel your inner Bob Fosse and win best picture, doesn't mean you are any good. The most forgettable Best Picture winner of the decade.

Strat's 20 of 2010

The resurgence of quality movies from 2009 continued on for 2010.  Movies moved further along into blurring the line between fantasy and reality with docu-dramas and quasi documentaries at the same time other films questioned your entire perception of the film by its end.


20. Catfish (documentary)
The Blair Witch Project makes you afraid to go out into the woods to follow a creepy witch tale. This makes you afraid to go out into the boonies to meet an online girlfriend.  It feels sorta like David Lynch had a hand in this.


19. How to Train Your Dragon (animated comedy)
It's not often DreamWorks tells an animated tale exceptionally well without it being chalk full of pop-culture clichés and for once they did that.  It's essentially the same classic tale of the lion who befriends the man that removes the thorn from his paw. Quite enjoyable.

18. Four Lions (mockumentary)
You normally don't associate terrorism with funny. But that's exactly what great comedies like Dr. Strangelove do with serious subjects like this.

17. The King's Speech (drama)
Wonderfully told and executed historical drama. Colin Firth may not ever have a better roll in this somewhat inspirational tale of the King of England.

16. Inside Job (documentary)
A lot has been said about the causes of the collapse of the global economy in 2008.  No film leaves the evidence on who to blame so clearly on the table. 

15. Easy A (comedy)
It's been a long time since there's been a teen movie that was this memorable. Off the top of my head, Election and Clueless are the only two that come to mind.  I expect lead actres Emma Stone to have a very successful future in comedy.


14. The Disappearance of Alice Creed (drama)
A heist film shot in only three locations with three actors that is as thrilling and exciting as anything of more well known fare this year.  It certainly takes its cues from Resevoir Dogs and Dog Day Afternoon but in a very refreshing way. Quite possibly the most underrated movie of the year.

13. 127 hours (drama)
No film is likely to make you squirm as much as this one as James Franco spends most of it alone with a camera and an arm trapped under a rock.  The movie is make or break on  a terrific performance which gets you into his head to really understand what would make a man sever his own arm with a dull knife.


12. Death at a Funeral (comedy)
Of the comedies on the list, this is your most broad based humor/laugh out loud film of the bunch.  One of the best ensemble comedies in a long while.


11. The Social Network (drama)
If you've seen my other lists, you know I'm partial to David Fincher's films. This is no different. While I've heard the movie mentioned for all sorts of things, it's just a great film in the same vein as The Pirates of Silicon Valley.

10. Shutter Island (drama/thriller)
Martin Scorsese turns in a modern mind-bending Gothic/scary film that is a strange cross between The Last Temptation of Christ and Cape Fear.

9. True Grit (drama)
If you've seen the original with John Wayne, there's little in common with it. It's one of the few westerns I've seen that are not hung up on trying to be "westerns" or an homage to westerns. It just tries to adapt Portis' novel to the screen.


8. Kick Ass (action/comedy)
This is the reality/absurdity check of all comic book movies as it asks the question of what would happen if the super hero gets his butt kicked and really isn't so super in anything other than his determination to be super? 

7. Restrepo (documentary)
The best documentary in the field of battle I have ever seen. The film takes your right to the front lines of one of the most dangerous battle-zones on earth - the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan and at the same time humanizes the omnipresent fear that the soldiers feel about death.

6. Youth in Revolt (comedy)
A fabulous movie about teenage rebellion, imaginary friends and French literature.  It's quite possibly the best rendition of Michael Cera's awkward yet cute persona.


5. Exit Through the Gift Shop (documentary)
At face-value, this is a documentary about street art.  As you look beyond the movie, you discover the potential for so much more out of it.  Whether or not this film is fact or fiction or somewhere in between, you be the judge.  In any case, it's a marvelous bit of storytelling.


4. The Town (drama)
Maybe we're getting to know who was the real brains behind Good Will Hunting. Ben Affleck manages to write/direct and star in a movie that exclaims that his streak of terrible film choices is over.

3. Black Swan (drama)
Given the his body of work, I'm pretty sure Darren Arronofsky has a neurotic sadomasochistic streak.  It's a melodramatic Gothic horror film in a dramatic thriller's clothing.  And certainly one of the filmmaker's best works to date.
  
2. Toy Story 3 (animated comedy)
When Disney announced the first Toy Story sequel, many of us groaned, fearing a crap-fest of a film. We were quickly rewarded with another in a long line of good to outstanding films by Pixar. And this one is not the Godfather Part III by any means to the Toy Story trilogy.

1. Inception (drama)
There are few movies in the same class as this one.  It is one part remarkable it was made, another that people came out to see it in theaters. And even more remarkable is the amazing blend between psychological and action in the film which Christopher Nolan has become the master of like no other since the days of Alfred Hitchcock. The only other movies that fall in the same breadth as this are Fight Club, Almost Famous and The Departed.

Lupe's Top 20 of 2009

20. Funny People (comedy)
The title is apt enough, given that this is the first time in history that Ray Romano has been funny.  And for a guy dying of cancer and wallowing in self pity, Adam Sandler approaches funny for once, too.

19. Where the Wild Things Are (children's fantasy)
Traumatize your child with the fantasy of an abusive ogre for a best friend!  Not only can he punch apart house sized bird's nests, but he's got a real passive aggressive thing going, too.

18. Ponyo (animated, fantasy)
The end times are nigh when the seas begin to rise, boats run on candle power, and toddlers get betrothed to goldfish.  I guess they have some amazing discoveries ahead of them.  The more you know.

17. An Education (drama)
I could give a high school girl some "life lessons."  Oh wait, that's actually covered here.  If her parents took any more of an interest, they'd be even worse at raising their kid.

16. Coraline (animated, fantasy)
Adolescent girls have come a long way since My Little Pony.  When did sewing buttons into kids' eyes become adorable?  Puppies are cuter with bat wings?

15. The Stoning of Soraya M (foreign, drama)
Persia has come a long way in the 2500 years since "The Anointed One" Cyrus the Great.  They gave up that meddlesome rule of law concept and decided to solve all their problems with rocks instead.

14. The Road (sci-fi)
In 1995, I watched a double feature of Leaving Las Vegas and Dead Man Walking.  I really wanted to slit my own wrists after that.  This movie is just about as bleak but way more badass.

13. Star Trek (sci-fi)
Tween James Kirk lives Catcher in the Rye and gets in bar fights because there's no higher calling in Gene Roddenberry's secular humanist utopia.  Spock's the weird one for coming from a spiritual culture, but that gets taken care of pretty handily.

12. Zombieland (comedy, horror)
In a world overrun with zombies, there is a distinct lack of Twinkies, and not even Hollywood celebrities live forever.  But at least there are still euphemisms for poo.

11. The Informant (drama)
This is just the movie for people interested in the lysine industry.  For actual existing people, however, you can enjoy watching Matt Damon play a colossal liar.

10. The Secret In Their Eyes (foreign, mystery)
Shh, the secret is that there is no monster and the town elders are really into playing dress up, and the trees are somehow killing everyone... wait, actually this has a twist ending that arises naturally from the characters and situations as they've been established.  No one told Argentina how it's done, apparently.

9. Me and Orson Welles (drama)
Who knows what you're supposed to do if your married and famously megalomaniacal employer wants to get your girlfriend in the sack?  The Shadow knows.

8. Up (animated)
You know you're a curmudgeon when you'd rather chuck the boy scout out of the floating house and hang with the old geezer.  And this is coming from a former boy scout.

7. The Hurt Locker (war)
Art reflects life in this relatively action packed sequel to Jarhead/Gulf War One.  It's like one of those Tom Clancy video games with all the sniping and disarming traps, except for the long stretches of boredom and lack of an escort mission.

6. The Men Who Stare at Goats (comedy)
I dig all the psych warfare and stuff, but what this movie really needs is more references to the Jedi order.

5. Up in the Air (drama)
With that calm demeanor and reassuring smile, if you have to be fired, get fired by George Clooney.  Just don't let him make an Oscar speech.

4. Moon (sci-fi)
Is mining for helium-3 such a high overhead business that you can't hire new people when the previous guy pukes in his space suit?  Maybe cloning brings down the workers comp claims.

3. The Hangover (comedy)
Remember doing MadLibs as a kid?  No one plugs in boring adjectives and nouns when you could go with black Doug, naked Asian lucky charm, and junk taser.  The tiger seems tame by comparison.

2. Inglourious Basterds (war)
Tarantino spells about as well as Brad Pitt speaks Italian.  I'm not so sure the guy who paved the way for Travolta to make Battlefield Earth has the moral high ground to claim Nazis are a-holes.

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (animated)
Wes Anderson makes an awfully genteel yet sardonic children's film.  See if your eight year old enjoys watching chickens get mauled and tails shot off as much as I do.